The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from round 17

The Dees threw Christian Petracca forward against the Saints and took home the four points thanks to their star, but is the move sustainable? Check out Robbo’s likes and dislikes from round 17.

Adam Cerra of the Blues celebrates a goal. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos

The race for the top eight got another shake-up with Essendon jumping to fifth, Geelong coming into the eight and Richmond and Carlton keeping their seasons alive.

It wasn’t such a great weekend for the Crows or Dockers.

Nick Daicos drew praise from one of the greats and there are still question marks over one top-four team.

Chief football writer Mark Robinson names his likes and dislikes from round 17.

LIKES

1. Greats loving greats

AFL legend Greg Williams was probably tagged 240 times in his 250-game career, and although Nick Daicos mostly runs around without a tagger, Williams is astonished at what the young Collingwood player brings to the game. “I got tagged all right, but boy oh boy what a player he is, my God,’’ Williams said this weekend. When Craig McRae said post-game: “He has the ability to see things others don’t see in tight congestion,’’ that could’ve easily described Williams when he played. “There’s not many of us who can do that, and Nick does it.’’ Williams said. He said Daicos was the best player in the competition. “No doubt, it’s amazing what he’s doing. The size of him, his run, his kick-ins, I love seeing that stuff, and he’s doing it with his handball. The best thing about his kicking, and not many of us can do it, but he changes his kick in his action. You think he’s kicking to such-and-such and he sees someone else while he’s kicking and he pulls the kick or kicks with the outside of his boot. There’s not many players I’ve seen who can do that.’’

Nick Daicos can do things other players can’t. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Greg Williams knows a bit about finding the footy.

In his first 41 games, Daicos has had 1175 disposals at an average of 28.7 a game. In Williams’ first 41 games, he had 1208 disposals at an average of 29.4 a game. Matter-of-factly, Williams pointed out that back in his day a team would have 280 disposals and he would average 10 per cent of them. In today’s football, teams can have 380-400 disposals and he says he would still have 10 per cent of them, which would be an average of 40 disposals a game. And remember, he said, he was tagged in almost every game.

He loves all the Daicos family. “I played against Peter of course and he was so classy and Josh is a good player as well, the All-Australian winger probably, and Nick looks like a cool guy, humble, which is not like me. I just love a little guy like him who does what he does. He sees it before everyone else, his vision, he’s tough – you have to be – and he’s mentally tough as well. Yeah, he’s good and he already knows it.’’

2. Unselfish Bombers

Not so long ago, the Bombers liked to kick chase and liked to turn in circles and dump the ball long into the forward line. Under Brad Scott, U-turns are minimised and they look for the best option to a running teammate or a teammate hovering nearby and ready for the handball receive. The Bombers flip the ball as well as any team in the competition, which means the opposition is forced to defend. The combination of slick ball movement and high-end pressure is salivating football, and that first half against the Crows was as good as Essendon has played for a decade. They landed 11 smothers, which was their second-most of the season, behind the 13 in round 7. It’s just another indication of the defensive nature of this team complementing that scary outside game. They kept the Crows to just 18 inside-50s in the first half, and then when Crows challenged with 35 inside-50s in the second half, the Bombers were resolute defensively. Nic Martin and Zach Merrett continued their All-Australian form, Dyson Heppell was superb, and Darcy Parish, as was Jayden Laverde, who continues to be the barometer for effort.

Kyle Langford celebrates a Bombers goal. Picture: Michael Klein

3. Blues have their mojo

Where it went is the mystery of their 2023 campaign, but now it’s three consecutive weeks of high-pressure football from the Blues and it has helped deliver wins against Gold Coast, Hawthorn and, on Sunday, Fremantle. Their pressure on Sunday was 184, but they dominated the game so much, it was their offensive game which really stood out. It was a complete performance. They dominated contest and their midfield runners got to work. McKay and Curnow kicked six goals between them on the back of the stars playing their best footy. It was a deep contribution. That’s what you like to see at Carlton games. They had contributors everywhere. And suddenly, coach Michel Voss looks like a coach who has got a handle on his team. The big-money players do their work in the middle to get it to their big-money players in the forward line. They play Port Adelaide this week, which will be a hell of game. If the Blues bring pressure, they can win it.

Blues coach Michael Voss. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

4. The old boy still have wheels

After watching Geelong’s draw against Sydney in round 16, two players stood out for their lack of agility: Isaac Smith and Mitch Duncan. Smith was rested for Sunday’s game against North Melbourne and Duncan was switched from half-back to a high half-forward role for the first time this season and produced a stellar game. Yes, another premature write-off of one of Geelong’s ageing champs. True, he’s had a staggered season. He missed the first three games of the season with a calf strain and then another three games with a hamstring injury from rounds 10-13. In the first quarter on Sunday, Duncan had 11 touches and six score involvements and the Cats led by 41 points at the first break. Game over. Will Cats coach Chris Scott send Duncan back? Not after that display, and Scott knows more than anyone the importance of playing that transition role, helping out defensively and contributing forward of centre.

Mitch Duncan helped set up the Cats’ big win. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

5. The Demons won, but ...

They needed to get to Marvel, get the four points and get out of there, and they did. Tick. But it was hardly convincing against a team which had lost three players before quarter-time. It worked for Christian Petracca as a forward. He kicked 4.0 of the team’s 12.7 and his forward-midfield split was 67-33 per cent. It was a weird midfield contest. Melbourne had the tap dominance but St Kilda’s Rowan Marshall was huge around the ground, finishing with 30 disposals and 10 marks. There were times when Petracca was needed in the midfield to give some bite because the Demons looked too blue-collar and clunky, but coach Simon Goodwin stuck to his game plan. It was also bold coaching, especially when the Saints were still in the contest with 10 minutes to play. The Saints were gallant and in for the fight. They lost Max King (shoulder), Seb Ross (hamstring) and Zaine Cordy (concussion) in the first quarter, leaving them with two rotations in a torrid game. With a full deck they probably would’ve won, so Melbourne’s game, although sound, was far from perfect. Not sure Petracca can play mainly forward without Clayton Oliver for the next month.

Christian Petracca played mostly as a forward against St Kilda. Picture: Michael Klein

6. The premiership quarter

It’s an old saying, maybe introduced by the legendary commentator Lou Richards, but the third quarter has for 50 years been known as the premiership quarter. On Saturday night, Port kicked 9.2, which was the sixth best return of any team the year. Of the five other quarters, two of them were in the Sydney-West Coast belting, and the others were Geelong’s 10.5 v Hawthorn, Carlton’s 9.5 v Gold Coast and Port’s 9.3 against Hawthorn. The plus for Port on Saturday night was their nine goals came from nine individual goalkickers, which shows the extraordinary depth they possess forward of centre. On Friday night, the Bulldogs had four individual goalkickers for the night, which further highlights their need for goalkicking midfielders and small forwards. Without them, you can’t win the flag.

7. Talking of taggers

Hawthorn’s Finn Maginness gave Josh Kelly a hiding on Saturday, That’s nothing new because Maginness is the best shut-down player in the competition when he gets a game. Kelly had six disposals in 120 minutes of footy, and further to that, in the 60 per cent of time he had Maginness as an opponent, he had just the one disposal. He’s a curious weapon, Maginness. He played the first four games of the season, was out of the team, and came back for the past two, one of them being the sub. On Saturday, he zeroed in on Kelly. You have to wonder if Maginness was at, say, Port Adelaide, Brisbane or Melbourne, would they use him to try to shut down Nick Daicos through the final series? Those three teams prefer to run their midfield squad versus the opposition’s midfield squad with a bit of individual coverage at stoppage. Then it’s free-for-all. Not sure Collingwood can be beaten if Daicos plays midfield and is allowed to freewheel. Have those teams got a secret stopper for September?

Fergus Greene is making the most of his second chance at the Hawks. Picture: Matt King/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

8. A family competition

Fergus Greene continues to hit the scoreboard for Hawthorn and having just played his 16th game, he is setting his sights on overtaking the number of games played by his uncle, former Carlton defender Brendan Hartney. Hartney played 32 seniors at Carton from 1981-85 and many more in the reserves team. Nephew Fergus played five games at the Bulldogs and has 10 for the Hawks, and has kicked 15 goals this year playing as a hybrid tall forward. He has limitations, but he can find the sticks. The uncle and nephew are products of the Sandhurst Football Club in Bendigo and word has it Uncle Brendan likes to rib nephew Fergus about the fact, at this stage, he has him well covered. By the end of next year, however, Fergus might be flipping the script.

DISLIKES

1. Frauds out west

Footy in Western Australia is at a low ebb and Fremantle has joined West Coast to be among the disappointments of this season. To put up 2.8 in the first three quarters at home against a team still trying to find the consistency of defensive integrity was beyond belittling. Fremantle played finals last year, and they are out of the race at round 17 this year. They are young, but they were young last year as well. They are a soft team. There’s no other description in what was a final in July. They were supposed to dominate stoppages on Sunday with Sean Darcy opposed to Lewis Young and Jack Silvagni, but it wasn’t the case with the Blues winning overall clearance by seven. The midfield was badly beaten around the ground, not enough players were accountable to Carlton’s runners off turnover – the Blues scored a sizeable 60 points off turnover – and their defensive group was under siege from the first bounce to the end. Clearly, Luke Jackson is not the same footballer with Darcy in the team, and it was a surprise he didn’t get more time as a midfielder instead of staying as a key forward. It was one of the worst results we’ve seen this year in what was a 50-50 game at home.

2. Road worriers are back

As good as Essendon was in the first half on Sunday, the Crows were abysmal. They couldn’t win the ball (233-152 was the possession count) and they gave up 81 points. Good teams, premiership-contending teams, don’t give up 81 points in a whole game. They were opened all over the ground and it’s startling that the Bombers scored 19 points from the defensive 50 – again, that’s a score teams hope to amass for a whole game. The road worrier tag is back despite almost knocking over Collingwood in round 15. Altogether, they have played seven games away from home for one win and six losses. The monkey on the back is a gorilla, no matter if the Crows disagree, and until that can be fixed, the Crows simply can’t threaten the flag, let alone be a lock for September.

Adelaide flopped on the road again. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

3. How can this be so

Geelong won centre clearance on Sunday 20-4. How does a 50-50 contest, four players v four players, deliver such a lopsided result? It wasn’t as though Tristan Xerri was up against Polly Farmer in the ruck, no, this was on the midfielders. Greenwood (26), Davies-Uniacke (25), Zurhaar (13), Thomas (10) and Lazzaro (nine) were the centre-square attendees for North Melbourne and although some of them were influential around the ground, collectively they had their pants pulled down in the middle. It’s difficult enough to compete at Geelong without giving the Cats such clearance dominance.

4. The end is near

The Kangaroos will likely lose Ben Cunnington, Kayne Turner, Todd Goldstein and probably Jack Ziebell at the end of the season because of retirement. If all three leave, or are gently pushed, it would leave the Kangaroos with three players who have played more than 100 games for the club – Cam Zurhaar, Jy Simpkin and Luke McDonald. They will be frightfully young next year, no matter if Ben McKay stays or goes. McKay’s played 64 games in five years and the draft/trade beat writers tell us he’s an $800,000 a year player. The world’s mad and getting worse. The Kangaroos should simply ask McKay if he wants to be at the club. If the answer is yes, they work out a deal. But if the Kangaroos want to push McKay out the door and get a first-round back, then that’s the better result. They could bunch picks and go after Harley Reid, or bring in more top-end youth via the draft and continue to try to find journeyman veterans to fill a couple of gaps, such as Brisbane ruckman Darcy Fort. For what’s it worth, McKay out for a potential No.3 draft pick is the go. The kids were OK after halftime on Sunday at Geelong, so more of that please.

Jack Ziebell could be playing his last season. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

5. What to do with Bailey Smith?

It’s hard to watch the Bulldogs young gun be a non-contributor, and it’s going to be hard for him when, in the review, there will be (or should be) footage of his half-chase on Bobby Hill on the far wing at Marvel Stadium on Friday night. Hill had the ball and scampered, and Smith, believing Hill would immediately dispose of the ball, was only loping inside of him. Smith upped his effort when Hill kept running, but it was the initial response which left a lot to be desired. It’s difficult to determine if Smith is in a terrible form slump, or if there’s life issues affecting his footy, for he has several times spoken of his off-field challenges. Maybe Smith needs a new club and new environment. That’s a kneejerk response, but it could work for him and the Bulldogs, who would get a first-round selection in return. Smith was supposed to be the centre-square replacement for Josh Dunkley, but against the Pies, he had four minutes in the first quarter, four minutes in the second, two minutes in the third, and 14 minutes in the final quarter. As a forward he was opposed to John Noble, who was one of the best afield, having 28 disposals and taking nine marks. Something’s not right with Bailey, for it was the first time in his career he didn’t have a single score involvement.

Bailey Smith is well below his best. Picture: Michael Klein

6. Bad night for the Kings

One was injured at Marvel and will miss the rest of the season and the other sat on the pine at Adelaide Oval. It was a bold move by Stuart Dew. Amid rampant speculation about his career, the Suns coach subbed out his team’s best forward, Ben King. Dew explained in the post-match that it was a tactical call because King wasn’t finding the ball, the Suns were too tall in the forward line and the ball was bouncing out too easily. Outside of Port’s rampant third quarter, the Suns outscored Port in the other three quarters 10.6 to 7.8, which included the Suns bouncing back after Port kicked nine goals in the third quarter. The Suns didn’t lay down, so does that help Dew’s case? He needs everything he can get at the moment, especially when big mouths at the club talk to journalists. There’s a rat in the ranks at the Suns, and this person spoke out of turn. On a day of some heavy meetings last Tuesday, this person put up his hand and said it was him. Don’t know where that leaves the pair going forward in terms of trust, but at least this person was honest.

7. Toby Nankervis

It’s a funny world when Richmond coach Andrew McQualter says they love how Toby Nankervis plays. “We wouldn’t change Toby for the world,’’ he said. Is that supportive of his late, high, shoulder charge into the head of Jake Lloyd? Hate it when commentators say Nankervis didn’t mean it and that it was an accident. But the fact is he did it. In the charge for a finals spot, he let his team down badly.

Originally published as The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s likes and dislikes from round 17